The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers four games to none in the best-of-seven NBA Finals series to conclude the 1982-83 NBA season. The victory gave the 76ers their third NBA championship and first since 1967.

The Lakers entered the series as the defending champions, having defeated the 76ers a year earlier, but failed to win back-to-back titles. This was the 14th consecutive season without a team winning consecutive titles. This was the fifth meeting between the 76ers and the Lakers in the NBA Finals (including two meetings when the 76ers were the Syracuse Nationals). The Lakers had won the previous four meetings (1982, 1980, 1954, 1950).

Moses Malone won NBA Finals MVP honors. Before the start of the playoffs, Malone had famously promised "fo', fo', fo'," meaning the 76ers would sweep all three of their playoff series. Philadelphia came up just short of this mark, losing once to the Milwaukee Bucks in the conference finals, posting a 12-1 record in the postseason.

The 76ers had home-court advantage for the Finals, which were played under the 2-2-1-1-1 format. This was the last postseason that included first-round byes for the top two seeds in each conference. The 76ers swept the two regular-season meetings between the two teams in the 1982-83 season.

Team	Lakers	76ers
Regular Season	58-24, 1st in Pacific Division	65-17, 1st in Atlantic Division
Conference Semifinals	Def. (5) Portland Trail Blazers, 4-1	Def. (5) New York Knicks, 4-0
Conference Finals	Def. (2) San Antonio Spurs, 4-2	Def. (2) Milwaukee Bucks, 4-1

The 76ers outscored the Lakers by 10 points in the first quarter, but L.A. bounced right back, outscoring Philadelphia by 13 points in the second quarter. Down 64-62 in the third quarter, the 76ers went on an 8-0 run to take a lead they would never give up, taking a 1-0 series lead.

Without Bob McAdoo (thigh) and James Worthy (broken leg), the Lakers frontcourt was undermanned and had trouble slowing down Moses Malone, who finished with game highs of 27 points and 18 rebounds. Andrew Toney added 25 for the 76ers and Julius Erving had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Norm Nixon led the Lakers with 26 points despite leaving the game briefly with a separated shoulder. Magic Johnson finished a rebounds shy of a triple-double: 19 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists.

The Lakers controlled the pace of the first half and took a four-point lead into halftime. L.A. was bolstered by the return of Bob McAdoo, who provided much-needed size off the bench. However, the Lakers' good fortune was short-lived. The 76ers outscored the Lakers by eight points in the third quarter. They were leading by just four when Moses Malone was forced to the bench with his fifth foul, but the Lakers couldn't muster a comeback, and Philadelphia took a 2-0 series lead.

Despite the foul trouble, Malone finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 8-of-10 from the field. Maurice Cheeks and Andrew Toney each scored 19, easily outpacing the Lakers starting backcourt. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the Lakers with 23 points, but was held to four rebounds for the second consecutive game. Magic Johnson had 12 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists, but his backcourt mate Norm Nixon scored just eight points on 4-of-13 shooting.

Back in the Forum, the Lakers raced out to an 11-point lead in the first quarter, but the 76ers answered just as quickly, closing the gap to just three points at halftime. The game was tied heading into the fourth quarter, when Bob McAdoo opened the scoring with consecutive baskets. However, the 76ers responded with a 14-0 run, taking a 10-point lead and cruising to a 17-point win and an insurmountable 3-0 series lead.

Moses Malone was again the dominant figure for the 76ers, finishing with 28 points and 19 rebounds. Julius Erving added a double-double of his own, scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 23 points and grabbed a series-high 15 rebounds but shot just 8-of-20 from the field. Magic Johnson flirted with a triple-double (18 points, seven rebounds, 13 assists) but struggled from the field, missing nine of the 12 shots he attempted.

Even with Norm Nixon and Bob McAdoo unable to play because of injury, the Lakers raced out to a 17-point second-quarter lead. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 17 first-half points while holding Moses Malone (nine points, seven rebounds in the first half) in check. But the Lakers' lack of depth caught up to them in the fourth quarter, when the 76ers outscored the Lakers 33-15 to turn an 11-point deficit into a 7-point win. Julius Erving scored seven consecutive 76ers points during a 7-1 run late in the fourth quarter, turning a 106-104 deficit into a 111-107 lead.

Malone bounced back from his rough first half to finish with 24 points and 23 rebounds, earning MVP honors. Malone averaged 25.8 ppg and 18.0 rpg in the four-game sweep. Erving finished with 21 points in Game 4 to clinch his first career NBA title. (He won the title twice in the ABA.)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar finished with 28 points, while Magic Johnson added 27 points, seven rebounds and 13 assists for the Lakers.

When the NBA compilied its list of the 60 Greatest Playoff Moments to coincide with the league's 60th anniversary, the 76ers championship ranked No. 36 on the list.